After more than a year of trying to negotiate with three-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd and his agent, Eugene Parker, the Buffalo Bills basically threw up their arms Monday and said enough is enough.

"We valued Byrd as a very good player, one we want to keep, and we did everything we could to do that," general manager Doug Whaley said. "We place a value on a player, they have a value in their mind, and we have not been able to work through it. We are very comfortable with the significant offer that we made to those guys."

But quite obviously, Byrd was not, and the Bills recognized that his stance isn't likely to change. He was determined to test the free agent market last year and was denied when the Bills slapped the franchise tag on him. He still longs for the opportunity, and now it appears he will get it as the Bills declined to use the tag this time.

Had the Bills tagged Byrd, he would have been in line to earn about $8.43 million in guaranteed money for the 2014 season. And the Bills would have been able to keep him off the market, which opens March 11, plus it would have given the two sides until July 15 to continue working toward a long-term contract agreement.

They tried that approach in 2013, but no deal was reached. Byrd then sat out most of training camp, and only returned to the team when it came to a point where not doing so would have cost him a paycheck.

According to what Whaley said Monday, the Bills apparently never had any intention of using the tag on Byrd or any of their other unrestricted free agents, most notably kicker Dan Carpenter and tight end Scott Chandler. Thus, when negotiations with Parker over the weekend failed yet again to produce a resolution, the Bills let Monday's 4 p.m. tag deadline pass.

"We didn't think it was the best option for the team for us to get better, so we felt the best long-term future for the Buffalo Bills was just not to tag him," Whaley said.

Byrd will draw big interest once free agency begins next Tuesday. He's the top-rated safety available, and after making 22 interceptions in his first five years in the NFL, not to mention the three Pro Bowl selections, he'll strike it rich — perhaps in the neighborhood of $10 million per season with as much as $25 million guaranteed up front.

"As I said, there's always a chance, we're open to doing it," Whaley said regarding the slim possibility that something can happen in the next week. "We're in communication with his camp. We think we did everything in our efforts to keep him, and we'll keep trying and hope it gets done."

Assuming Byrd is through as a Bill, that means the two starting safeties — at least on paper at this stage — are Da'Norris Searcy and Aaron Williams. Both performed well in 2013, and the team could certainly be in a worse situation, but losing Byrd will be a blow to a defense that made strides last year and is looking to leap forward under new coordinator Jim Schwartz in 2014.

Duke Williams and Jonathan Meeks, both of whom were 2013 draft picks, are still on the roster, and it's possible the Bills could draft a safety to add to the competition.

Whaley understands that public perception may be that the Bills simply didn't step up and pay Byrd what he is worth, and that they are making a mistake not trying to get something for Byrd by tagging him and then trading him.

"I know fans are going to say why didn't we get something for him," he said. "This system is not set up where you can sign everybody. We've done a great job of signing guys that we've had. Leodis McKelvin and Eric Wood last year. Fred Jackson, Kraig Urbik. So we do put an emphasis on signing and keeping our players, and it's just with the salary cap system and the way the NFL is you can't keep everybody."